Expression of CD30 is a distinct marker of lymphocytic activation, originally described in Reed-Sternberg cells of Hodgkin's disease. Recently, the first two cases in which CD30 was expressed in tissue samples derived from superficial cutaneous fungal infections have been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of CD30 in tinea corporis and to discuss the clinical relevance of CD30. Twenty-three skin biopsies from 23 patients with mycotic infections of the skin were analysed retrospectively. The immunophenotypic expression of CD30 was investigated. In the series investigated, some large CD30-positive cells located in the upper dermal infiltrate were noted in two of 23 biopsy specimens (8.7%). The existence of CD30-positive cells was independent of the density and composition of the accompanying inflammatory infiltrate. We showed that the expression of CD30 in dermatophytoses is not a consistent finding. Instead, as a sign of lymphocytic activation, CD30 expression is observed coincidentally in cutaneous fungal infections. Our data confirm the observation that CD30 antigen is expressed in a variety of benign and malignant skin disorders, including cutaneous fungal infections, probably as an epiphenomenon without clinical relevance.
© 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.